Ski sharpener

ABSTRACT

A SHARPENING TOOL HAVING A FACE TO SLIDABLY ENGAGE A GUIDING SURFACE OF A SKI AND A SHARPENING ELEMENT SUPPORTED PERPENDICULAR TO THE FACE TO REMOVE METAL FROM AN ADJACENT METAL EDGE OF THE SKI.

Feb. 9, 1971 w. PIRZEK ET AL SKI SHARPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.16, 1968 INVENrOAS WILLIAM PIRZEK MEL J. NIELSEN ATTORNEYG Feb. 9, 1971w. PlRZEK ETAL 3,561,169

SKI SHARPENER Filed Sept.- 16, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet z WILLIAM PIRZEK NiELJ. NIELSEN United States Patent 3,561,169 SKI SHARPENER William Pirzek,53 E. 6th Ave., Vancouver 10, British Columbia, Canada, and Niel J.Nielsen, 62 Morven Drive, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada FiledSept. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 759,905 Int. Cl. B241] 15/02 US. Cl. 51--205 2Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE I A sharpening tool having a face toslidably engage a guiding surface of a ski and a sharpening elementsupported perpendicular to the face to remove metal from an adjacentmetal edge of the ski.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a toolparticularly intended for use in sharpening metal edged skis.

Skiers frequently are faced with the task of truing up the metal edgesof their skis and very often the need arises when the skier is out onthe ski slopes and far from a workshop where the ski can be supportedproperly and suitable shapening tools are available. Hitherto, thesharpening often has been attempted using a conventional flat file orhone and very few skiers appear to have the necessary skill to put aproper edge on a ski using such tools under such adverse conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Our invention contemplates a ski sharpenerhaving a handle in the form of a flattened block which coacts with a skisurface to provide a guide for the tool. A sharpening element issupported in the block whereby metal is removed from the ski edge atright angles to the guiding surface thus ensuring that the ski issharpened with the required speed and precision. Protective material onthe tool prevents the guiding surface of the ski from being marred andthe sharpening element can be retracted into the handle so that the toolconveniently can be carried in the pocket of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of oneembodiment of the ski sharpener, in accordance with the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a similar view of this embodiment as seen from the underside.

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1 and showing thesharpener in position of use,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4 and showing themodified sharpener in position of use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3of the drawings, the numeral indicates generally a ski sharpener havinga handle or block 11 which is oblong and of a size which convenientlycan be gripped in one hand of the user. Preferably, block 11 is formedof a suitable plastic although other materials, such as wood or metal,can be used as well. Block 11 has a plane lower face 14, a similar upperface 15, and sides 16 and ends 17 which preferably taper inwardly to aslight extent from said upper face to said lower face. All the edges andcorners of the flattened block 11 are round and smooth so that thehandle portion of the tool is unlikely to cause damage to a ski ordiscomfort to a user during the ski sharpening operation.

Block 11 has a lonigtudinally extending and centrally disposed slot 20which is rectangular in cross section and which desirably has roundedends 21 and 22. Slot 20 extends through the block so as to be enterablefrom both the lower and upper faces 14 and 15. Parallel to the slot 20are inwardly tapering recesses 23 and 24 which serve to reduce theweight of the block 11.

Mounted in the slot 20 is an abrading element generally indicated at 25.As shown in the drawings, element 25 comprises a length of flat file 26but it should be pointed out that other equivalent sharpening elementswill serve almost as well, i.e., a similarly shaped abrading plate orscraper, or alternatively, a block of honing carborundum, neither ofwhich is shown in the drawings. File 26 has parallel abrading surfaces27, side edges 28, and end edges 29 which side and end edges may also beparallel to one another. The length and thickness of the flat,rectangular file 26 are such that the abrading element forms a fairlyclose fit within the slot 20. In addition, the file width is not greaterthan the distance between the faces 14 and 15 of the block.

Means generally indicated at 32 is provided on the block 11 foradjustably securing the file 26 within the slot 20. As shown in FIGS. 1and 3, means 32 comprises a pair of set screws 33 which are threadedinto longitudinally spaced openings 34 formed in one side of the block11. The openings 34, which are threaded throughout their leigth, extendinto a side 16 of the block and communicate with the slot 20. Desirably,the set screws 33 are shorter in length than the threaded openings 34 sothat the slotted heads of the screws are countersunk when the tips ofthe screws engage an abrading surface 27 of the file 26. Thus, by meansof the screws 33, the file 26 can be adjusted to one of two normallyselected positions. In one position (not shown), the file 26 is housedentirely within the slot 20 and is supported therein by the screws 33.In normal position of use, file 26 is supported with a side edge 28spaced a selected distance from and parallel to the plane lower face 14of the block as shown best in FIG. 3. At this time, the abrading surfaces 27 are normal to the lower face 14 of the block.

Secured to lower face 14 of the block, is a layer of protective materialgenerally indicated at 38 in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the drawings, material 38is shown to comprise two strips of felt 39 which are suitably bonded tothe face 14 on either side of the slot 20. Alternatively, means 38 canbe a single piece of felt having a slot registering with the slot 20,the material extending around the face 14 near the ends 17.

The present sharpener is intended for use on a ski 42, see FIG. 3, whichhas a bottom surface 43 and side edges 44. At the intersections of thesurface 43 and edges 44, metal strips 45 are inlayed into the ski andare suitably secured by either bonding or by the use of fasteners suchas small screws, not shown. These metal wear strips eventually losetheir fine edge and professional skiers as well as others like tosharpen the skis periodically so as to obtain a proper grip on a snowsurface during turns and other maneuvers.

In order to sharpen such a ski, the ski is supported with the bottomsurface 43 facing the tool user and the sharpener 10 is placed in theposition shown in FIG. 3. The lower face 14 of the tool, which iscovered by the felt strips 39, engages the guiding surface 43 of the skiwith an abrading surface 27 of the file contacting the adjacent ski edge44. The user then slides the sharpening tool back and forth along theski to abrade the strip 45 and, to a lesser extent, the edge 44 as well.As this is done, any burrs or unevenly worn spots on the strip 45 areremoved and a keen, right angular gripping edge is provided for themetal wear strip. Thus, in a very short space of time, the ski can beprecision filed by even an unskilled filer who may be about to start adownhill race which will call for an extremely sharp edge on the skis.

When not in use, the tool can quite easily fit into the pocket of a skijacket or the like. Conveniently, the file 26 is retracted so as to beenclosed entirely within the slot at which time the tool forms a neat,compact object which will occupy a minimum of space.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the numeral indicates generally amodified ski sharpener which is similiar in many respects to thesharpener 10. The modified sharpener comprises an oblong block 51 whichhas a centrally disposed and longitudinally extending slot 52. A file 54is secured within the slot 52 by set screw means 56. Upper face 58 ofblock 51 is provided with recesses 59 and 60 spaced one on each side ofthe slot 52. The parallel recesses 59 and 60 are rectangular in crosssection and extend into the face 58, to a point about midway betweensaid upper face and a lower face 62 of the block 51.

Recesses 59 and 60 are fittend with rubber-like keepers 64 and 65 eachof which has a transverse dimension slightly greater than the recess anda width greater than the depth of the recess. Thus, the keepers 64 and65 are adapted to be wedged in the recesses 59 and 60 with their outerand preferably rounded edges 66 and 67 standing a short distance abovethe upper face 58.

The ski sharpener 50 is not fitted with felt strips as before and, inorder to protect the skies during the sharpening operation, a felt strip70 is employed. The rectangular felt strip 70 has side edges 71 and endedges 72. To attach the protective strip 70 to this particularsharpening implement, the file 54 and keepers 64 and 65 are removed fromthe block 51. File 54 is then placed along the centre of the strip 70 toform a fold 74 extending transversely of the centre of the stripwhereupon the file and fold are entered into the slot 52 from the planelower face 62, as shown best in FIG. 5. The set screw means 56 istightened to clamp the file in selected position within the block, or inother words, to project therefrom as sh wn in FIG. 5, with the fold 74enclosing the inner end of the file. The free ends of the felt strip 70are passed across the face 62, up over sides 75 of the block, and acrossthe face 58 so that the end edges 72 of the felt can be fed into therecesses 59 and 60. The keepers 64 and 65 are then wedged into therecesses 59 and 60 to apply suitable tension to the felt strip and toclamp the edges 72 against withdrawal.

The sharpener 50 is used to sharpen the metal edge of a ski as before,viz, it is moved back and forth while engaging the ski as shown in 'FIG.5. The waxed bottom face 43 of the ski, which serves as a guidingsurface for the tool, is protected from damage by the felt strip 70. Inaddition, the user is afforded a firm grip on the tool and his handsreceive some protection from the cold by the felt strip 70.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a tool has been provided whichis particularly well suited for sharpening skis while a skier is out onthe slopes. The tool ensures that a proper edge is placed on the metalwear strips of the skis at all times and the size and compactness of thesharpener allows it to be carried conveniently about on the person ofthe skier without endangering him in any way during falls.

We claim:

1. A sharpener for the metal edges of a ski comprising a substantiallyoblong block having a plane lower face, an upper face and side edges,said block having a longitudinal slot extending therethrough, asharpening element mounted in the slot and normally projecting beyondthe plane lower face, means on the block for adjustably securing thesharpening element within the slot, said top face having a recess oneach side of the slot, a strip of protective material wrapped around theblock and having a fold extending over the sharpening element Within theslot, said strip extending from the fold across the plane lower face andthe side edges and having end portions entering the recesses, and meansfor releasably securing each end portion within each recess.

2. A sharpener as claimed in claim 1, in which said means for releasablysecuring each end portion within each recess is a rubberlike keepershaped to wedge in said recess and project above the upper face of theblock.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,994 7/1894 Lynch 76-83656,290 8/1900 Herman 29-78 1,441,499 1/1923 Hanlon 51205 2,398,566 4/1946 Talbert 51205 2,442,088 5/ 1948 Kreutzer 51205 2,689,437 9/1954Miller 51205 OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner

